Ohio State at First Glance (Round of 32 opponent)

Cougar Basketball
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Summary: it is basically Kaleb Wesson

ohio state was actually supposed to be having a “rebuild” year and was not supposed to be good at all (i read a scouting report on them in the preseason becuase they were Cincy’s season opener)…

Kaleb Wesson caught a few good teams offguard early in the season, but after everyone realized how good he was and zero’d in on him, Ohio state limped to the finish

Kaleb is basically a slightly bigger Breaon brady (exact same skillset) who brings it everynight

Key to the Game: getting wesson in foul trouble could decide this game early, (he draws a lot of fouls). if not atleast finding a way to contain him. Note there is a big drop after wessen is post play and size

Offense: in general they are not a good offense, and often stalls. they have players that can hit open shots or on weak defenses but none that are to the level of hitting contested ones …the offense revolves around Wesson, he is bullying people in the post or passing it on double teams to open players

Defense: they are actually a very decent defensive team.(mostly man to man) and it revolves around the fact the have tall athletic guards that are hard to shoot over, and they also put in a lot of effort (reminds me of saint louis). kaleb’s older brother andre wessen is a key cog, an athletic 6’6 rim protector often put on shooters .but the vast majority of teams they play they allow 65+, so i wouldn’t say dominate but very good

Rebounding: respectable rebounding team, but nowhere near our numbers

Game 1 Highlights:

Observations: i thought it would take a crazy game for Georgia state to beat us and honestly really never gave them a chance. Ohio state is different, we should win, but losing is very much in the realm of possibilities. Wesson will be the best post scoring big we have played to date and their defense is good enough that if we had a bad shooting game we could be limited in points…

ultimately though, i think Sampson will find a way to limit weason as did most teams to finish the year. i think this could be a big game for Dejon/Galen as its straight man to man defense…if we get wessen in foul trouble i honestly dont think they will have chance. im not not sure if they are built for 40mins of our pressure, so a big 2nd half could be a thing…

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If we bring our A game, we’ll be hard to beat.

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The Coogs double the post very well. The key is not to give up good looks off of the doubles, which is also something the Coogs do well. I thought Iowa State might be getting hot at the right time after winning the Big 12 Tournament. I thought tOSU was lucky to make the field. Their win at Cincinnati was their best of the year. I will say Coogs win 75-62.

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We need another starter to start hitting some shots. White can be a threat sometimes but if Brooks isn’t hitting we may need Hinton in there early. Hopefully Jarreau can limit his turnovers as he produces. Harris could have a big game on the inside defensively. Maybe Brady can get their big guy in foul trouble.

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I really believe there isn’t a team the Coogs can’t beat if they’re firing on all cylinders. This will be a tighter game but very winnable. I expect a better game from Armoni too.

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We have beaten better teams. But anything can happen.

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Kaleb Wesson is big and wide.

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We need Robinson and Brooks to step up this game. I suspect they’ll double Davis and force someone else to beat them. Davis will get shots but having someone else get hot from the outside will open it up for Davis.

As for Weasson, I’d go right at him with Brady to see if we can draw fouls. I think this might be a game where we see Harris get some minutes for defensive purposes although Gresham is always my choice for option #2 down low since he can hit a few free throws. Plus, he has a good rhythm going with Jerreau off of the drive and dish for an alley oop.

Yes, we do a pretty good job of doubling down low with our guards pressing on the perimeter to make entry passes difficult. Should be an interesting matchup for the Coogs. Would love to see Hinton hit a few 3’s and Jerreau slash to the bucket more.

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We were at the tOSU and ISU game and decided right away we were rooting for tOSU.

Key factor was the sixth man that ISU brought with them. They travelled REALLY well. It was a home court that we didn’t want to face.

34 is a force on the boards for sure. They outrebounded ISU start to finish. We are deeper at the big man position and we know how to shut down the star player.

I like our chances. Go Coogs!

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